Apparatus for sterilizing surgical instruments and any other objects.



c. scHNnER. APPANM'US FOR STERILIZiNG SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS AND ANY OTHER OBJECTS.

APPLICATION FILED MAN. I, l9l5. N NNN NMW Patented Dec. 11,1917.

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c. SCHKRER. APPARATUS FOR STEBILIZING SUflGlCAL INSTRUMENTS AND ANY OTHER OBJECTS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. I. 915.

' Patented Dec. 11, 1917.

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c. SCHARER. v I APPARATUS FOR STERILIZING SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS AND ANY OTHER OBJECTS. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 1. I915.

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.APPABATUFS .ron STEmIiIzIne streetcar, msramvrnnrs AND ANY-OTHERDBJEGTS.

:srec e L t r fi fa n Patented Dec, all, 191%.

Application filed lvt-arch 1, 191 5. ScriaL-No. 11,409.

" and receptacles, sewing cord, llllblSBP-5t1'tlClGS and :the like, ctherheat employed for :boiling the water having :been derived 'ifrom .steam, electricity, petroleum, Wood, coal "or any other fuel. It has also been knowniandipractised .before to inclose Jt-he sterilizing wapparatus within a digester for the ;purpose of carrying offithe: surplusrof vapors generated by the sterilizing vapparatus, whereby the surrounding space as kept free from -n1oist vapors injurious and disagreeable to theattendants.

The object of my iinvention is to sobtain a :speedy and entirely reliable :sterilization and to do away with:thexseveralobjectionable inconveniencesconnectedrwith thesterilizing devices Ehitherto :in use.

To obtain such object I employqasterilizing apparatus,:which, is preferably located Within a :partition between i the sterilizing room .and the .operatingmoom, and is kept perfectly steam-tight during the, process of sterilization. The apparatus :contains a cooling device, owing :to UWhlCllJthQlBSCELPQ of moist vapors and the @resulting loss of sterilizing fluid is substantially eliminated, eitherlduring the act ofintroducing theolojects to be treated, .or during removing said objects; also-the drop initemperature of the sterilizing fluid due to said introduction'or removal o'f objects is equallylandefi'ectively avoided. 1 v

The instruments and vother articles .to be sterilized-are; placed in .penforated cups care 'riediby alliftin'g tray which, being connected 'toithe doors of thesterilizing:apparatusautomatically immerses the said cups intoeand liftslthem :out of thesterilizing fluid, said doors .being so arranged @and operated to open.-andiclose;in a vertical plane. For=this purpose, the said lifting trayis positively connected (to the said vertically swinging doorsby means of flevers,which:-as1the doors open, simultaneously cut off the supply of heat wand admit cooling fluid to said lifting tray, .suchcoo-ling fluid :being. led from the cooling device of the sterilizing apparatus and temporarilysupplied to cool the said lifting ltray.

Besides ofgpreventing the escape of; moist vapors @into the surroundingspace, as described, and besides of automatically performing thelsubmersion and emersion of the .tray whichcarries the 'objects to be sterilized, alfurther considerable advantage is obtained which consists in simultaneously heating :and sterilizing the doors by the steam which fills thehollow spaceoftheap- ,paratus, {the inside .of which serve to sup. port the cups which contain the objects to be sterilized. Another advantage derived from the1construction of the apparatus cordingto my invention consists in [that-a perfectly sterilized diaphragm or partition is established between the operating room and .the sterilizing room. The penformthe same in the accompanying drawings whichlserve as an example as to-howmyinvention' may be carried into practice.

In the-saididrawings, V t Figure 1 shows a cross-section of the sterilizing apparatus, with the doors inwtheir open position;

Fig. 2 is a similarcrosseseetion with the doors in their closed-position;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section :of the a para u i Fig. 4: ,is a plan oftheisamegand Fig. 5 shows a front-elevation of the same.

In the said 1drawings,'l is a receptacle destined to receive the water for boilingv the same; 2 is a coiled tube conducting heating fluidsuch as steam, the said coil being located at the bottom of the receptacle 1'. Steam is supplied into said coil by a feed- -pipe 1 provided witha self-closing shut-off valve 3. The discharge of the steam is made stant level, an overflow-pipe 12 has been provided discharging into the exhaust 5.

ii Within the said receptaclel, a lifting tray 13 has" been provided to slide in a vertical direction, having slide-rails 15 adaptedto beguided in guide-ways of saidsterilizing apparatus, and connected to the doors 16 of i said 'apparatus by a" set of levers. The said connection is so calculated, that, as the doors are being closed, the said tray 13 is lowered down to the bottom of the receptacle 1, "whereas, by opening the said doors 16, the said trayis lifted from the fluid within the said receptacle 1. The means by which the tray 13 is thus loweredor immersed intothe sterilizing fluid and raised or lifted out of said fluid, consists ofa pair of levers 17, each of which may be fixed to the inside of the door, and of a movable arm'18, one end of whichis'linked to the'fixed pair of levers 17 and the other free-end of which is guided by a projecting pin19 within a vertical guide-way 20 rigidly connectedto the said prevented.

lifting tray-13. A second swinging lever 21,

'which' is similarly-linked to the fixed arm 17 of'the door=16,fengages a steam-escape hood'22, the connection being so calculated, that, as'the door'is closed,'the said hood is swung to the inside of the casing ofthe apparatus, while,- on opening the door, the said hood is swung to the outside. Having "reached the said latter position, the said hood will cover the 'rear part of the door, whicli',"bythisftime', h as assumed a horiz0ntal position, and the escape-of moist vapors from the steril'zing apparatus is thereby 'For the purpose of cooling the said fting tray'13, the" same is'Ico'nstructed hollow and provided with a tube 24, which also serves to connect the guide ways 20 already -mentioned above. The said tube 245: leads up through a guiding'member'25bf the cooling vessel 10 and carries a funnel 26 at its upper end, the said funnel, however, being not open but covered by a roof-shaped hood having a central aperture. I thereby provide means whereby the fluid, on being discharged through the lateral ports 27 of the pipe ll, will run beyond said roof-shaped hood and flow into the cooling vessel 10 as long as the tray 13 keeps its lowered position (Figs. 2 and But as soon as the said tray 13 has been raised by opening the door, the said funnel 26 will slide over the aperture in the end of pipe 11 and the cooling fluid, henceforth, will not flow into the vessel 10, but into the hollow space of the tray 13, from which the fluid will be exhausted through a pipe 28 at the opposite end of the hollow tray and run into the cooling vessel 10.

Inorder to simultaneously obtain, on closing the door of the apparatus, the shutting ofi of the heating source for heating the sterilizing fluid, a selfacting valve 3 has been provided within the steam-supply-pipc 4, as mentioned above. Said valve may be provided with a lever arm 29, which is so located with relation to the discharge-pipe 28 of the tray 13, as to be engaged by and rotated in a clockwise direction by said pipe in the ascent of the tray, whereby opening the valve while, as the said tray returns down, the said valve 5 is automatically closed by a helical spring 29, said spring being shown mounted under tension between the lever arm 29 and a suitable part 30 of the tank 10.

Ahollow frame 30 serves simultaneously as an abutment for each of the two doors 16 and as a conductor for a cooling fluid which is constantly flowing through'thc ducts of said frame to prevent the formation of moist vapors.

The casing of the apparatus consists of the lateral sheet-metal sides 31, which, by the aid of angular frames 32, are secured within the wall between the sterilizing room and the operating room. The front side of the apparatus carries a thermometer 33 and a water-gage 34: for controlling the temperature and the level ofthe sterilizing fluid within the apparatus. From the front of the apparatus there are further projecting the handles 35 of four valves; one of which valves, 3G,serves to control the supply and the other valve 37 to control the discharge of the sterilizing fluid with respect to the receptacle 1, whilethe valve 33 controls the supply of steam and valve 39 the supply of cooling fluid to the apparatus.

It will be seen from the foregoing description, that by-the use of the construction and arrangement of parts of the sterilizing apparatus according to my invention, the process of'sterilizmg surgical instruments and similar other ob ects and matter may be performed speedily and conveniently and with as little supply as possible of steam and water. I

Instead of constructing the apparatus within the partition between two rooms, it might be supported 'by any other suitable basement or bracket, the f working of the apparatus being the same in either case.

I claim as my invention:

1. In apparatus for sterilizing surgical instruments and other objects and matter, the combination, with a steam-tight casing, or a receptacle for receiving the sterilizing fluid, a tray supporting the objects to be sterilized, ducts for conducting water through said tray, levers connecting said tray one side to guides for lifting and lowering the tray and the other side to swinging hoods adapted to be turned inside and outside of the doors, and of a water-distributing device for making cool water flow through the tray when raised and stopping said water flow when the tray descends.

2. In a sterilizing apparatus, a casing provided with a door hinged thereto to move outwardly therefrom, a hood pivotally mounted on the casing opposite to the hinged connection for the door to partially close the door opening, said hood being concealed Within the casing by the door when the door is moved to its closed position, an arm fixed to said door, and a swinging lever connecting the end of the fixed arm with the hood to move the hood to its closed position as the door is closed and to its outwardly directed position to prevent the escape of vapors from the interior ofthe casing when the door is opened.

3. In a sterilizing apparatus, a casing provided with a door hinged thereto to move outwardly therefrom, a hoodpivotally mounted on the casing opposite to the hinged connection for the door to partially close the door opening, said hood being concealed within the casing by the door when the door is moved to its closed position, an arm fixed to said door, a swinging lever connected to the end of the fixed door arm and the hood to move the hood to its concealed and eX- posed positions simultaneously with the movement of the door to its closed and opened positions, a sterilizing fluid receptacle, a material receiving tray cooperating with the sterilizing receptacle, means to raise and lower said tray, and a link connecting the fixed arm of the door with the tray actuating means whereby the tray may be submersed in the fluid of the sterilizing receptacle when the door is closed and may be emerged from the fluld simultaneously with the opening ofthe door and the outward movement of the hood.

4. In a sterilizing apparatus, a casing provided with a door and a sterilizing receptacle, a vertically movable tray mounted 1n the casing and adapted to be submerged in fluid contained in the sterihzmg receptacle when the door is closed, the movable tray being providedwi th' elevating and guiding instrumentalities whereby the tray may be elevated from the sterilizing receptacle by the movement of the door in one direction;

5. A sterilizing apparatus comprising a casing having a door, a sterilizing receptacle, means to heat fluid contained in the receptacle, a cooling vesselmounted in the casing above the sterilizing receptacle, means to supply cool fluid to the cooling vessel, a swinging hood carried by the casing and adapted topartially close the door opening of the casing, means to connect the door with the hood whereby the hood may be moved outwardly from the casing over the door when the latter is moved to its opened position to prevent the escape of vapors from the heated fluid of the sterilizing receptacle and to direct the vapors to the cooling vessel to condense the vapors.

6. A sterilizing apparatus comprising a casing having a door, a sterilizing receptacle, means to heat fluid contained in the receptacle, a cooling vessel mounted in the casing above the sterilizing receptacle, means to supply cool fluid to the cooling vessel, a tray mounted in the casing and provided with means whereby the tray may be moved simultaneously with the movement of the casing door, and means to automatically cut ofl the heating means to the sterilizing receptacle when the tray is moved to one position by the operation of the door.

7. A sterilizing apparatus comprising a casing having a door, a sterilizing receptacle, means to heat fluid contained in the receptacle, a cooling vessel mounted in the casing above the sterilizing receptacle, means to supply cool fluid to the cooling vessel, a tray mounted in the casing and provided with means whereby the tray may be moved simultaneously with the movement of the casing door, means to cut off the supply of cool fluid directly to the cooling vessel and to pass it around the tray and thereafter to the cooling vessel when the tray is moved to one position by the operation of the door, and means actuated by the movement of the tray in one direction to cut off the heating means to thesterilizing receptacle.

8. A sterilizing apparatus comprising a casing, a tray movably mounted therein, a cooling vessel mounted in the casing and provided with a passage way, a fluid'conductor mounted in said passage way and adapted to be moved longitudinally by the movement of the tray, means to connect the fluid conductor with means to cool the tray,

V ,oversaidnozzle to preclude the direct flow nnd'means to move said tray Within the'casone endv of'the fluid conductor being provid d With a-bulbous coupling, a pipe having a nozzle to supply fluid to the cooling Vessel, the. end of said pipe terminating Within the bulbous end of the conductor,

fluid to flow through the fluid conductor 10 around the tray.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

CARL SGHARER. Witnesses HENRY HAsPEn, WOLDEMAR HAUPT.

ing to cause the bulbous coupling to pass of fluid to the cooling vessel and permit the I Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington. D. 0. 

